John Constantine, Hellblazer: The Fear Machine #[nn]

Phil Hale's painterly cover says everything you need to know about John Constantine's world: the rumpled trenchcoat-clad occult detective stands mid-thought, cigarette at his lips, while a gaunt, clawed hand reaches toward him from just out of frame — danger always arriving from a direction he's not quite watching. This 2008 DC collection gathers Jamie Delano's "The Fear Machine," with interior art by Richard Piers Rayner and inks by Mark Buckingham bringing Constantine's gritty, supernatural London to life. If you've ever wanted to understand why this sardonic, smoke-wreathed antihero endures, "Touching the Earth" is a compelling place to start.